West Virginia mine victims' relatives to be compensated

On April 5, 29 West Virginia coal miners were killed in this country's worst mining disaster in 40 years.

More than three weeks after the mining accident, Massey Energy - the owner of the coal mine - said it would provide financial compensation, including benefits and health care, to the victims' families, the Associated Press reported. In addition, the company will pay for college costs for the victims' children and offered increased life insurance payouts.

Massey Energy director Robert Foglesong said that "the first and most important consideration, of course, is providing care for the families of the 29 miners who died. Massey Energy is providing these benefits without requiring any family to settle any legal issues -we're doing it because it's the right thing to do."

Congress is holding hearings to determine the causes of the West Virginia mine explosion. West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd hopes the hearings will evaluate mine health and safety laws so that these sorts of accidents can be prevented in the future.